There are a lot of LeBron critics out there and I think the Bron/Melo situation parallels the Jay/Yao situation. Similarities: 1. Both scouted at a young age and started getting hype early. ESPN had both on their "Next" issues. Yao had support from his country and was thought of as an invader. LeBron has a posse of his own and wants to dominate on the next, next level. 2. Both have critics saying they shouldn't be picked first because there are more proven players. Jay Williams and Carmelo Anthony are those "safe" players that dominated college. 3. Both put up great stats but those were waved off because "it's against scrubs". 4. Questions about their game. People thought Yao couldn't post up, people are questioning LeBron's defense. 5. Few have really seen them, yet many want them to fail just because of the hype. 6. People all over wanted Yao to "get beat up" by Ben Wallace to teach him a lesson about American basketball. Critics want LeBron to fail because they want to teach him a lesson about NBA basketball. 7. Even though people only saw them once or twice, they are quick to make decisions. The Chicago workout made people think Yao couldn't block shots because Chris Christopherson scored over him. People saw LeBron's Mater Dei game and said he couldn't shoot. This is a pro-Yao forum so I expected more people to support LeBron's hype situation, but that hasn't been the case. Think about it, the safe pick isn't always the bext pick. Don't be quick to judge!
I think there are a lot more people suggesting drafting Darko Milicic over Lebron than Anthony... I haven't seen too many people suggesting Carmelo Anthony should be drafted over Lebron James. In fact, Lebron is pretty much the most agreed upon #1 pick since Tim Duncan. Where are you seeing this dissension?
When Yao entered the draft almost everyone declared him as the next big bust or at least a major project, requiring at least 3-5 years. With LeBron it's almost the opposite, he is being hailed as the next MJ or close to it. He's getting so much hype, granted Yao got a lot of hype around this time last year but it was more of the negative type. With last years draft most people thought Jay Williams was the safe pick and should be the number 1 pick. In this years draft LeBron is considered a lock to be #1, with Darko Milicic as the other option. I don't think there is as many critics of LeBron James as there was on Yao. James is considered by most scouts as a "sure thing."
